Strong Quake, Solomon Islands

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 129 km west of Kira Kira in the Solomon Islands at 1:10 p.m. New Zealand Daylight Time this afternoon. The undersea quake was centred 133 km south-east of the capital Honiara at a depth of 31 km according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Geoscience Australia reports the event as magnitude 6.7 at a depth of 12 km. It estimates that the quake would have caused damage within 74 km of the epicentre which includes parts of Guadalcanal and San Cristobal islands, and would have been felt up to 900 km away.

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology has assessed the quake and determined that a tsunami threat does not exist for Australian coastlines.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a bulletin at 1:21 NZDT advising that, based on historical data, a widespread tsunami threat did not exist.

[Compiled from data supplied by the U.S. Geological Survey and its contributing agencies, the U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, Geoscience Australia and Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology.]

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